A small but staunch group gathered at Main Beach Byron on Saturday to put their voices behind a call for a ceasefire in Palestine and an end to the Israel-Hamas war.
Organiser Indigo Grey, who is a year 10 student at Xavier Catholic College, said she felt it is important to be speaking out about this issue.
‘Australia is a wealthy country. You know, we have so many privileges that the people in Palestine don’t have.
‘I think it’s important that we raise our voices on this issue, that we speak out and fight back against what mainstream media is trying to tell us. The narrative that I think a lot of these governments are pushing, especially America, is just completely erasing the struggle and the suffering of the Palestinian people. It’s just glossing over everything, all of the injustices.
Raising our voices
‘I just think it’s crucial that we be raising our voices and telling our government that we do not support the genocide and ethnic cleansing.
Greens MLC, Sue Higginson, who spoke at the rally, said it was good to see a rally organised by Indigo. ‘She’s a young person who is so concerned about what’s happening in the Middle East right now, and we’re seeing so much pain and trauma, and let’s be honest, we’re seeing a lot of anger about the conflict. We’re seeing anger at our own governments, both state and federal, for not standing up for peace, for not calling for a strong position on the ceasefire and the end of the violence’.
Israel is not defending itself
‘We saw early those calls for Israel’s right to defend itself, and we know what that means. Israel right now is not defending itself. It is a full-scale attack on Gaza. And that is an attack on Palestinian people right now, with over 15,000 Palestinian people are now dead – women and children – because of this bloody attack.
‘This war and this conflict, it has been going on for as long as my life. This is an escalation of illegal occupation, violence, and we know that we’re talking genocide. It’s hard to talk about, it’s tough. But we have to be honest.’
The future is bleak
Indigo Grey said right now the future for Palestine is bleak. ‘If Israel continues its illegal invasion, there will soon be no Palestine. Many of the thousands who have died were crafters, artists storytellers. Who will pass on the rich culture of the Palestinian people to the next generation.
‘We must have a ceasefire and we must have it now’.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
